Galaxies are truly the most astounding places in the universe. Colossal systems of stars (of which our sun is just one among trillions), these truly colossal objects have been rightly dubbed `island universes' in their own right. If you were to do the impossible and 'zoom out' our view of the universe to perceive it on the largest scales, you would see billions of galaxies scattered like glittering jewels on a pall of dark velvet. You would see the vast diversity in galaxy structure ('morphologies') with colossal, ancient elliptical galaxies and intricate, tightly wound spiral galaxies. This 'God's eye view' of the universe has existed only in the minds of Astronomers, until now. We call this project 'Astera'. Developed in-house at the University of Southampton, Astera generates a dazzlingly beautiful, but also scientifically accurate, interactive view of the universe on unimaginably large scales. Developed using the popular game engine Unreal Engine, Astera allows the user to voyage through the cosmos with dynamic and immersive first-person control. In this project, we will take Astera to the next level, by leveraging cutting-edge, STFC-funded research into computer modelling of galaxy evolution, to develop our project into an exciting and engaging video game. The player will have the ability to not only observe, but also influence, the evolution of galaxies themselves, in a fun and gamified way that will make players always want to come back for more. In this project, we will develop a prototype version of this game, which we will use to pitch for additional investment or partnership with an existing game studio. This project will also be shared with a group of preliminary testers, to secure feedback that is customer driven. Finally, we will further develop our contacts within the industry, to pave the way for a full commercial release of Astera.

The magneto-optic effect is the core part of optical isolators and widely used in optical sensors. The market of optical isolators was estimated to be $0.7B in 2016 and is expected to grow at 5% per annum while that of optical fibre sensors has grown continuously in the last two decades and from $3.38B in 2016 it is expected to reach $5.98B in 2026. To date fiberized devices and sensors based on the magneto optic effect have relied on simple telecom fibres or hybrid solutions with expensive crystals. This project proposes new manufacturing technologies for high performance optical isolators and current/magnetic field sensors aimed to replace the traditional hybrid approach based on crystals with novel glasses/fibres. This approach relies on our recent discovery that slightly-doped Gd-doped glass fibres exhibit a giant magneto-optic coefficient, similar to crystals, yet maintaining low-cost, low loss and high compatibility with fibres. This proposed programme spans from the investigation of giant magneto-optic effect in slightly doped glasses to the manufacture of specialty silica fibres, through the design of fiberized isolators and novel fibre based frequency conversion devices, and their combination in suitable systems for applications in security, industry and medicine. Although the initial effort will relate to the fabrication and characterization of novel glass compositions for glasses and fibres with giant magneto-optic response, the newly developed fibres will then be used to manufacture novel sensors and devices for selected practical industrial implementations in optical isolators and magnetic/current sensing.

The University of Southampton has a long history of innovative research across the EPSRC remit which is built upon a vibrant environment of Early Career Researchers including postgraduates, post-doctoral researchers and newly appointed academic staff. Access to equipment and facilities is imperative for a large proportion of these researchers and PhD students working in Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, and many other areas. A fresh and growing equipment base enables the best individuals working at the cutting edge in areas of national need to continue to lead the research agenda. The University of Southampton continues to establish unique capabilities and grow capacity from early career through to more senior academics. Recently the University has made a number of strategic investments in key research areas with the provision of state-of-the-art research facilities and the recruitment of talented early career researchers. This call is a unique opportunity to further enhance the excellent research environment we have put in place. We request small items of equipment to support research in a number of areas of strategic importance to the university, the UK and beyond. We have taken the thematic approach of looking at five areas where the University and EPSRC have invested heavily which also address some of the most important global challenges, from energy to healthcare. A sixth, more flexible strand will allow the university to retain some responsiveness and will support research and researchers with the potential to transform their disciplines and forge new ones.

The overall aim of this proposal is to develop research capacity and strengthen existing research capabilities in three sub-Saharan countries (Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana) in the related areas of water and food security. Climate variability has an enormous impact on livelihoods across much of SSA, where rain-fed agricultural production characterizes local subsistence and is the mainstay of most national economies. Coupled with rising demand from growing populations, urbanization, and rising incomes, climate change is projected to lead to cuts in GDP of up to 6%, setting the stage for migration and conflict. For these reasons, water security is considered one of the top global risks to development. Water security is also fundamental to attaining many of the Sustainable Development Goals, being a constraint on meeting a range of challenges including food security, access to clean water, and resilience to hydrological hazards. At the same time, attaining food security is a priority of national policy in SSA countries and is a key building block of development. The reasons for insufficient progress in attaining water and food security are complex, but requires fine-scale, locally relevant research and solutions that are best developed and tested by local researchers and practitioners. Although capacity to carry out research in this area in SSA countries is variable, there are a number of fundamental gaps in the required skills and resources. To address these, our project will develop and implement a comprehensive and flexible programme of activities aimed at strengthening research capacity between the UK and SSA countries while addressing the grand challenges around water and food security. We will develop a pipeline of activities that is guided by a set of key research questions and implemented in the context of a collaborative network of researchers and practitioners that can sustain and propagate capacity and knowledge more broadly. Our focus is on three countries in SSA: Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana. These are representative of different geographical, climate, socio-economic, cultural and institutional settings and challenges that will allow for comparative research and exchange of ideas, and the development of a richer collaborative network. These countries are also where we have complementary, ongoing university-level research projects and collaborations focused on various aspects of water/food security with institutions at different levels of capacity development. The programme of capacity building activities will be tailored to each institution and its goals through a process of co-evaluation of needs, co-development of activities and co-implementation, including south-south capacity building and knowledge exchange.

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.